A Musical Mutation
by AnadKay
Summary: Arana has a special talent, different amung the mutants she lives with. A talent that belongs in a fairy tale, but what happens when that fairy tale come's to her world?
1. Chapter 1

So I have a new X Men fan fic. Yay. This one is based on X Men: Evolutions and is actualy older than the other one I have posted. I started this one back while I was actualy in school as something to do during lunch, and I kindof forgot about it in the proses of learning (go figure). So this one is a bit of a cross over of a book I've read, though that comes latter. So enjoy this and rate and review if you like it, other wise I may not keep posting it, though I will keep writing. ((fyi, my writings are more for my sanity than your entertainment, so take that))

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**Chapter I**

A warm summer's night tends to bring all the boys to the bar in a small town like this one. All the men were loud and boisterous, as were the few women in the bar, when a portly man came up on the stage in a corner of the crowded room. He brought his big hands to the microphone and called for some silence. "All right, all right, all of you shut up now. Welcome everyone, to Morse. We have a live act tonight, the one and only, Melody!"

After he said that, there was a round of applauds and he left the stage to make room for a seventeen year old girl. Her long blond hair blew out behind her as she glided onto the stage. She sported a black, one sleeved dress that fell to her ankles. The split in the side of the dress that went up to mid thigh showed some pale leg and got wolf calls from the men in the bar. Her green eyes showed no interest in any thing but the mic stand that she made her way to.

Her fingers eagerly wrapped around the mic, though she knew what she was there for. Her job was to present illusions to the poor human minds that drank themselves stupid that night. Her name was Shela, and her job was to occupy their minds while they wasted their money and their lives away. Every night she would sing to them, and every night she would go home to her parents and conscience. Always, she regrets what she is forced to do, but then always she is glad she did it. Doing her 'job' meant keeping her parents safe from the truth these people that owned Morse knew; keeping her secret safe from the public.

Shela's mother was a kind person that cared deeply for her daughter and there cozy home in the foothills of Colorado. Fort Collins was a good town to raise your child in, assuming you keep that child safe from the wanabe thugs and pot heads that ran amuck. She wasn't fazed by any of these factors. But one thing that did was how people reacted to each other. Everyone that was different was categorized into one group or another and attacked on different mediums. Goth, punk, emo… people weren't too kind to others. It's worse to people different like her.

The music started and so did her voice. She sang three dance songs, all of them quick and full of spirit. All the better to put them in the mood to drink their lives away. The songs were fast paced and got people dancing out of there seats to the front of the stage. It was simple tonight with the girls there. Get them dancing, wear them out so their tired and need drinks. Easy as that. But it's what happened after they had quenched that thirst that made her cry herself to sleep every night. To know that she was the cause of so many car accidents and wrecks hurt her more than knowing that her mother was stuck at the hospital because of it.

Her mother worked at the hospital and was often called in on emergencies. So naturally, it was rare for her to find her mother when she got home after school and work. Her father, on the other hand, was unknown. She didn't know who or where he was. The only thing she knew about him was he was a scientist and it were differences between the two that caused the divorce before she was born. She heard stories about how wonderful he was and how much her mother loved him. So Shela couldn't begin to fathom why they divorced, only that her mother found him intolerable when he was working.

Now she was a senior and worked part time, entertaining the eighteen year olds that she attended classes with. But what was she to do? It was this, or make her mothers life more complicated with the truth about hers. She didn't want to that, so she kept on singing. At least that way she was able to keep her mind enthralled in her own talents.

The doors opened and a man came in with an odd hair cut and a motorcycle helmet propped under one arm. He had jeans, cowboy boots, a tee shirt and a leather jacket. He was so out of place. This was a strange bar where people come to party and have fun. When you think about it that aspect, it was more of a dance club than a bar, but the owner still insisted on calling it a bar.

Her green eyes never left this strange man as he made his way to the now nearly empty bar. A large portion of the crowd was gathered at her feet, mostly class mates trying to look through the slit in her dress. She wanted nothing more than to smash their faces in. She hated dresses more than anything, and here she was, being harassed in a dress.

"Now here's a song requested by some of the ladies. Now how about you boys be gentlemanly and ask for a dance. Don't worry; they've assured me they don't bite." Then the music started and she sang 'Black Roses Red,' by Alana Grace. She was so into the song, she didn't notice the strange man staring at her. Everyone was either paired off or sitting at a table drinking in silence.

She didn't even notice the scenery change with her voice. As she sang, the room took on the illusion of a forest clearing. The same clearing she visited in her dreams when she was lonely. She started dancing to her own song as red roses started blooming around her in her illusion. She loved that clearing, but screaming from the crowd stilled her voice. The image around her fell and a tall, beast like man in a long sleeveless coat and long light brown hair was now visible in a clearing in the crowd.

"Sabretooth," The strange man growled.

"Wolverine," The other returned with amusement.

"What are you doing here?" The one called Wolverine gruffly asked as three long metal claws appeared on each of his hands. There were more shrieks and cries of terror as most of the occupants found an exit, some of them jumping out of the dark tinted windows.

In answer, the beastly man attacked him, hands extended as if he were going to gouge the others eyes out. She was frozen in place as they brawled all over, breaking everything that stood in their way. Everyone was gone now but the girl on stage, mic still in hand. Not one of them noticed her still. She tried to take this time now to run while the path to the back door was clear.

She never made it that far. As soon as she thought that, a portion of the beam running across the ceiling cracked and fell towards her. She dove out of the way, but tripped on the sandals she was wearing. Her left leg was caught under the beam and she screamed out in pain. The power of her scream shook the whole room and the two fighting were knocked into the on the opposite wall.

Only then did the others notice her. The one called Sabbertooth ran towards her threw the beam off her. He was going to pick her up when Wolverine tackled him. "Stay away from her," he growled. "She has nothing to do with this."

"On the contrary, I'm here only for her. You just happen to be a bonus." With that said Sabbertooth charged the other man and threw him to the wall. He was knocked out and she was left with the beast. She tried pulling moving away, but excruciating pain shot through her legs and she screamed again. This time he wasn't shot back though, and fatigue started to take over her. In panic and pain, she started whimpering. Another pain shot threw her back side and the sides of her head, and she was about to black out when the other man's claws shot through Sabbertooth's side.


	2. Chapter 2

Yay, chapter two! Wootness on a stick. Yeah, I'm just that wierd. So yeah, I will have at least five chapters on this for you all to read and judge me on. Don't tell me you wont judge me on them, I know humans and that's what we do all the time, so neh. There's nothing wrong with judging me on this, I would love to have a review bashing my work. Makes me know I can improve. That and I need critisizm. It's life, how can you not have any?

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**Chapter II**

It was dark around her. Even with her eyes open, it was too dark for comfort or at least too dark for daytime. The only light that was to be seen was the tiny red flashing light of a computer monitor. But that's not the part that confused her, it was all the sounds. The clicking and whirring of machines as they functioned in their programmed tasks pulled her attention. Then a strange sound like a bamf was heard in one corner of the room, followed by the strange smell of something burning. _Brimstone_, she thought. She remembered that from chemistry class.

Franticly, she turned her head in that direction, only to regret it in an instant. Something on the sides of her head stayed her movement. With shaky hands, she felt the cat like ears that now replaced the normal ears she once had before. Her mouth hung open in a silent scream.

A door way to one side of the room slid open and blinding light appeared. Three figures surrounded the bed she laid on. One a dark, white haired female, one a short male, and one vary blue… thing. The white haired woman knelt close to her face and looked her straight into her frightened eyes.

"Are you alright miss, you had us all worried." She sounded so sincere. Like a mother hen, taking care of the whole coop. The other girl fearfully looked past the dark woman and found one of the men that were fighting at the bar. He looked down on her curiously and sniffed a couple times, his nostrils flaring. What's going on here, she thought frantically. Then she looked to the blue one on her other side and got a three fingered wave with a fanged smile.

She tried to move and found sharp pain shoot through her left leg. It was in a cast and hung in a sling from the ceiling. Then she realized that her blond wig was gone. Her natural red hair was fanned out around her head as she laid on the hospital bed. "Its okay, its okay, just calm down, everything's going to be fine."

"Where am I?" were the only words she could get out.

"You're at the Xavier Institute. I'm Ororo Munroe. This is Logan and Kurt." She said indicating the other two. The one from the bar was Logan and the blue elf, Kurt. He again gave her a friendly smile, but she didn't respond to it. She was still trying to register what was going on. "Kurt, will you go inform the professor that our guest has awoken?"

"No need, Storm, I'm right here. Good morning Shela. Or rather, good afternoon," a voice came from the direction of the door. A bald man in a wheel chair made his way over to the bed the Shela was in. His voice had something of a calming effect on her, though she couldn't fathom how or why. He reminded her of a grandfather. Then something struck her. Her parents where probably worried sick about her.

"How long have I been here?" She asked to the general audience that surrounded her now.

"Three days," Logan stated flatly. Even when he was just talking, his voice was something of a growl. But she wasn't paying attention to that. She was once again panicking.

"Mother! Oh no, I have to get home, now. She must be worried sick about me…"

She was cut off by the man in the wheelchair who was looking at her calmly. "It's alright. Everything's been taken care of already. She has agreed to let you stay here, at least until you've recovered enough to walk on your own."

"Where is here? It's an institute, I've got that much, but what is it for? And what's wrong with me? My leg… my ears…"

"Ah, I'm Charles Xavier, and you are at my institute for gifted youngsters like yourself. If you are wondering where this is located, it's Manchester county New York." Her jaw dropped at that point.

_What am I doing in New York,_ she thought franticly. _I was in Colorado just a few days ago, how did they get me here so quick?_

"Logan called us from the bar, what was the name… Morse? Ororo, Jean, Scot and I were already in the aria looking for a new mutant, but when we heard from Logan, we got there right away. We had no idea that you were the one we were looking for. Jean and Ororo had splinted your leg by the time your mother got there.

"She was quite shocked to see you in that state, but was more worried than anything. She started giving instructions about the proper way to splint a limb. She wished she could come along, but her commitment to her work kept her behind." By then, tears were stinging her eyes.

Her mother was always one to care about others. That's one reason she had to be strong, so her parents wouldn't worry about her. The other reason is her independence. She had to do things on her own. It was more of a need to prove herself to others, but it had to be done.

She nodded her head in understanding. "So what do I do now?"

"You will have to be in a wheel chair for a while before you can walk again. You can use the crutches in your room, but only for short distances. You will attend school with the others your own age, like Kurt here when school's back in session, but before you can do any of that, Ororo will show you to your room."

All while he was talking, the woman had pulled a wheel chair up to the bed. She carefully undid the sling and helped Shela sit up. Logan picked her up carefully and placed her in the chair while Ororo made sure her legs didn't hit anything. She was then aware of the tail that had extended from her tail bone. Shela wrapped the new appendage around her waist and sank into the chair.

When all that was done, she was wheeled away to the door the others had come through earlier. When the two girls were alone, a question came to Shela's mind that she had completely forgotten to ask. "So, I'm guessing what he meant by 'gifted youngsters like yourself' is that everyone here is a mutant also?"

"That's putting it bluntly, but yes, that's right."

"So, may I ask what your mutant ability is?" She cautioned as they came to an elevator at the end of a hallway.

"I'm a weather witch," she said with a smile. "I can control the weather to an extent."

"Wow, that's so cool. So you can make it rain all the time if you wanted to right?" Shela asked with excitement. "I love the rain."

Ororo laughed at the girls new found enthusiasm. "Well it doesn't quite work like that, but in a general since, yes. What about you, what can you do?" She asked as she wheeled the girl onto the elevator and pushed a few buttons taking them up.

Shela looked down at herself, a sad expression on her face. "Well… I can sing." She said quietly, hoping not to be heard. But the white haired woman behind her caught it.

"Well that's a good talent to have. Not many people can sing. But what does that have to do with being a mutant?"

"Everything," she stated flatly. "If I wish strong enough, if I concentrate hard enough, I can make things, make people do or think things with my voice. I can also change things, like water into wine, or worse." New tears stung her eyes.

"That's why I was working at that bar. The owner found me alone in the park, and he was beating on a stray dog. I lost it and screamed at him. He nearly died. My voice crushed him to a tree. When my voice gave out, I panicked. Then he promised to not tell anyone what happened if I did what I was told."

Ororo had silently stooped down next to her and pulled her head up. "You were afraid weren't you? Don't worry, whoever he was, he got what he disserved. You're safe now, among friends."

This new insight brought a smile to her face, though she didn't know exactly why.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

The room Shela was left in was spacious and already full of her things. Her mother had sent them all over, and she was allowed to decorate and sort her stuff as she pleased. It was her room after all. The first thing she wanted to do was jump on the bed, as does any teen out on her own for the first time. But she found her limitation to be an annoyance in that aspect.

She looked around for her stereo and found it buried under a pile of boxes. With her being restricted to a wheel chair, she decided the best means of getting to the desired music; she had to empty the boxes of her crap before removing the box as a whole. So moving her chair over to the pile, she got to work on the nearest box. Fortunately it was full of cloths.

Pulling a pile of them onto her lap she wheeled over to the dresser on one wall and put them all in order so all her under garments and socks were in the top drawer while her shirts and jeans went in the bottom two. It was tiring and straining on her arms, but she managed to get through two boxes of cloths before calling it quits.

She was startled out of her relaxation when a loud pop filled the room, followed by the smell of brimstone. Whipping around, she found the fuzzy blue elf called Kurt. Her face softened when she saw who it was. "Oh, I'm sorry, vas I interrupting some sing?" He asked with a strong German accent.

"No, not at all, I was just putting some of my things away." Shela answered with a tired smile. "It would be easier if I had legs though," she laughed dryly. It was bitter irony. She never realized just how much she took the ability to walk for granted.

"I vas told to come help you vith that, actually." He put a nervous hand behind his head.

"Oh, don't worry about it; I'm fine on my own. Trust me." She lied. She knew she couldn't do it all on her own, but she was too stubborn to ask for help. If he offered it, then she would take him up on it, but she wasn't going to actually ask for help. That's just how she was. She didn't like to force someone into helping her and in her book, asking was a means of forcing.

"Are you sure you should be doing zat, I mean… you could hurt yourself more if you keep going."

"Don't worry about it."

"Vell… may I help you any vay?"

"If you want to, I'm not going to stop you."

"Just tell me vat to do." A sharp toothed smile made its way to his face as he stood at attention. She couldn't help but laugh at that point. He was too amusing. She nodded her head.

"Well, then. Ahem, under those few boxes over there is my stereo. If we pull that out first, we can have music while we work." She said with a wink.

"Ah, good idea," he returned and with a quick leap on his part, the boxes were moved and the stereo was in full view.

"Excellent! Now where should we plug her in?" She looked around and found the bookshelf had an outlet near by. She tried to pick up the stereo and speakers, but found it too awkward in a manual wheel chair.

"Here, just tell me vare you vant it." Kurt said cheerfully. She nodded her head and moved herself to the shelf. She directed him to put the speakers on the top self, and the system it's self on the second shelf so she could reach it. Kurt plugged it in and she set the tunes. 'The World is Black' by Good Charlotte started playing and she started dancing in her chair, swaying from left to right, lip sinking to the song.

That didn't last long however when she accidentally hit her broken leg on the side of the chair, sending sharp pain all through her body. She crumbled on herself and grabbed the assaulted leg in a vain attempt to get the pain to stop. A string of tears fell from her eyes as she hissed under her breadth.

Kurt stood behind her hand placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? Vat happened?"

"It's nothing," she forced out, her breathing hard.

"No, it's not 'nothing'. You're hurt. I'll go get ze professor." Before she could say anything, he was gone in a puff of smoke. She was left now with a numbing leg and a large mess. She couldn't move too far around the room with all the now empty boxes lying about from her earlier cleaning endeavors.

She heard the sound of others out side her door, but didn't care, so long as they stayed outside the doors. She pulled a few of the boxes away and threw them at the door to make way for her chair. When she finally reached the unopened boxes, she opened one and found her beloved books. She had a passion for fantasy and music. They worked exceptionally well together.

She would read her books while listening to her music, giving her more to dream about while she slept. It also gave her more to work with when she sang. She would memorize songs and stories at the same time. That's how, when she sang, the air around her took on a different image and feel. When she sang, the world was her own.

Now, she played a dance song called 'What a Feeling' by DJ Rankin. It put her in a better mood and made her completely forget about her pain. She started putting her books on the shelf, taking handfuls at a time. As she put them on the shelf, she put them in order by authors' last name. Half the first self was now full of books when the door opened, pushing the empty boxes aside. A furry blue head peeked into the room and gave her a worried look. Kurt pushed the boxes out of the way more so the door could open all the way. When it did, it was not the professor who came in, but another furry blue person. This guy stood stooped over like Kurt did, but where Kurt stood on two toes, the new guy stood on all for limbs like a beast.

"Hello Shela, I'm Dr. Hank McCoy, but every one calls me Beast. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you properly when you woke up." He offered a large hand to her and she took it curiously. "I here you are experiencing some pain, but you seem to be doing just fine right now. Tell me, what happened?"

"It's nothing," she said waving it off as a second thought. "I just bumped my leg, that's all."

"What were you doing?"

"Dancing. Well, actually, I was putting some of my things away so I could get to my stereo. Kurt set the stereo up for me, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Vat about ze books?" Kurt asked. "I didn't think you vould keep vorking after all the hissing pain."

"No problem at all. The books are light enough if I only take a few at a time. And besides, I was in a cleaning mood. You don't expect me to sit around all day now do you?"

"Actually, yes, we do." Now it was Dr. McCoy's turn to speak. "You should only move when you need to. As I understand it, Kurt here was sent in to help you. The intention was to get you back in bed, not cleaning." His voice was stern, but kind at the same time. Now Shela was starting to feel bad. She had not meant to make any one angry at her on her first day there.

"I'm sorry sir." She said looking down at her lap in shame.

"Don't worry about it, but next time, be more careful. Now you should go down for lunch, I doubt you've eaten in a wile." He said with a smile, causing Shela to lift her head towards him.

As he said that, Shela's stomach gave a quiet growl, though all in the room heard it. Shela's face flushed and she looked down at her lap again.

"Here, how about I take you to the kitchen and help you get somezing to eat?" Kurt offered with another one of his sharp toothed smiles. "Und after that, ve can finish putting you're zings avay together."

Shela nodded her head and he took her down the hall. They passed many others on the way to the kitchen, all giving Shela and Kurt strange looks. Some even stopped and stared at the two as they passed. Once or twice, she caught a student calling them freaks, or other such words. It was grating on her nerves, and more than once, part of her wanted to reach out and hit them. She wanted to hurt them and hurt them bad and it scared her.

For a long time, she had to fight with her inner demons like this one, but never had they been so domineering. If it weren't for her own self control, and the fact that she was handicapped, she might have acted on those wishes. She sang a song in her head, like she always did in these cases and immediately started to calm down.

She was so calm; she didn't notice she wasn't moving anymore. "You have a vary beautiful voice," a thickly accented voice said from behind her. She was startled a bit and hit her leg again.

Wincing in pain she remembered Kurt was taking her to the kitchen. "I'm sorry; I kind of forgot what was going on for a moment." She said with a smile. "What did you say?"

"I said you have a vary beautiful voice. You vere singing and it vas beautiful. Vhat song vas zat?"

"Oh, um, it's Fields of Innocence, by Evanescence. I can let you hear the actual song if you'd like." She said with a light blush.

"And you look beautiful ven you blush," he said with a smile, only deepening the blush. She looked down at her lap and waited for the heat in her face to pass. Before it had the chance to however, she was passing a doorway into a kitchen. "So, vat vould you like?"

"What? Oh, um… what is there?"

"Hum… Vell, let's see…" He opened the fridge so she could get a look at what there was. "Vat looks good?"

Shela's eyes widened at the selection. There was so much, she couldn't decide. She settled for tuna, feeling an incredible attraction to fish, crackers, and a tall glass of apple juice. She quickly ate the tuna on the crackers, licking her fingers when she was done.

"Vow, someone vas hungry," Kurt said laughing at her cat like behavior. She blushed again and stopped. Picking up the glass, she slowly sipped the clear amber liquid when another boy came in the room. He glanced at Kurt and Shela and had to take a double take.

"Whoa, uh… hello um… Dude, Kurt, who is she?"

"Her name is Shela, and she's new. Shela, zis is Scott, but we call him Cyclops." Kurt said, introducing the two. Shela nodded her head looked down in her lap. Scott just stood there, still confused as to who he was looking at.

"So when did she get here?" He asked Kurt, seeing Shela didn't want to talk any.

"Three days ago, you helped bring her here. Remember?"

"That's her? I couldn't recognize her without the blond hair. I like the red better, it fits her." The last statement got her to look up at him, though keeping her head down. "So how's your leg?" He finally directed at the girl.

"Hurts," she said simply, her voice barely over a whisper. She took a drink of her apple juice and looked in her lap again.

"I'm sorry. Hay, if it will make you feel any better, I could always hurt Logan for you…"

"Hn, I'd like to see you try, one eye." A gruff voice said from behind a now pale Scott. "So, how you doing kid?"

"Fine thank you," she said with a smile.

"You don't look fine." He said, looking at the cast on her leg. He took a deep sigh before saying, "look, kid… I'm sorry about that."

"Oh, please don't worry about it. I've broken this leg before, falling out of a tree. Of course last time, I was the one who fell on the log, not the other way around." She started laughing, while the others just looked at her funny. No one ever got her weird sense of humor.

"Ok… You had a pretty sweet voice up there, but one thing still confuses me. How did you slam us into that wall?"

"Um…" her face lost all color and her tail flicked with nerves. "Ah, it was my voice that did it." She finally whispered.

"What was that," the older man asked, giving her a funny look.

"It was my voice," she said a little louder, causing the room to shake a little. She wanted to disappear again, like she did back at school, but she knew she wouldn't have been able to get vary fair. Not in a wheel chair. On crutches, yes, but never in a wheel chair. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Vhoa, that vas… Awesome!" Kurt said pulling himself back on the stool he fell off of.

"No! No it's not!" She yelled at the over excited Kurt who fell off the stool again. Quietly she said, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell at you…" Pulling herself together, she wheeled herself out of the kitchen and tried to find her way to her room, leaving the three boys to their shock.

She had a small idea as to where she was going, but after the elevator, she was lost. When she got off on the third floor, she made her way down the hall, passing room after room, not one feeling familiar. To make things worse, her arms were getting tired. Her last inkling of hope however did not go unnoted. Coming down the hall towards her was Dr. McCoy. She smiled brightly and made her way towards him. "Hello doctor, how are you?"

"I'm doing well, though I should be asking you that question. What are you doing here, and isn't Kurt supposed to be with you?" He asked sternly, though he wasn't without kindness.

"Well you see I left Kurt behind with Logan and Scott. I didn't feel vary comfortable around them." Her eyes were back to her lap as she trailed off.

"Hum, I see. Well, is there anything I can do?"

"Um, help me find my room? I kind of forgot how to get back there, and I really want to finish putting my things away."

"Of course, follow me."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

With the help of Dr. McCoy who wouldn't let her do anything on her own, Shela had all her things organized and put away. She was now propped up on her bed with a large book on her lap while Beast scanned all the books that now lined the shelves.

"My, this is quite a collection you have. Have you read all of these?"

"Not yet, though I have a feeling that now I will have all the time needed to." She jested. She had books of all sorts, though most were fantasy and science fiction. She had a whole shelf devoted to encyclopedias of vampires, witches, fairies and other mythical creatures. She had spell books, books on religions, and histories from different countries and cultures; mostly Japanese. The extent was enough to request two extra shelves.

"I can't imagine what you do with all these books." He said, lost in wonder.

"Exactly that," she said simply. "I imagine. I let my mind wonder through the dimensions and realms of the made up worlds. Not many can even begin to dream what lies beyond the simple boundaries of bindings."

"Truer words have never been spoken. So where do you find all these books?"

"Internet. If I get bored enough, or if I find an interesting topic, I'll hunt it down. And with all the tips I made at the bar, along with the pay, I was able to get most of them used. The encyclopedias and spell books were all brand new when I got them though. It's kind of unusual to have them in the first place… unless you're a librarian or a teacher."

"Yes, I could imagine. You're a vary bright young lady." He said, turning to face Shela. "Ororo told me how you got to work at the bar Logan found you at, but my question is how it is we didn't know about you until about a week ago?"

"How did you guys find me in the first place? Why? I'm nothing special, so why does it matter whether or not you found me at all?"

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd ask that question. I am sure Charles would prefer to explain that to you. Speaking of which, you have an appointment with him tomorrow."

"Really? When?"

"At six in the afternoon, he has classes all morning and I would rather you stay in bed for as long as possible. So we have it arranged so he will come here to speak with you."

"Thank you, but you didn't have to do that…"

"Oh it was no trouble at all. Now get some rest, you'll need it if you ever want that leg to heal."

"Yes sir." She said, nodding her head with a smile. Dr. McCoy returned the smile then left her to her book. She turned on her stereo and as Give it All by Rise Against stared playing, she couldn't help but sing along. It was one of her favorite songs.

The laptop sitting on the table next to her bed had burned several copies of that one song to many of her cd's. She didn't have favorite bands like everyone else did, she had favorite songs. And of all the songs Rise Against had released, she loved that one most. It was like a drug for her. So she bought the cd just to burn that one song on other cd's full of songs she wasted money on purchasing cd's to acquire.

As she sang, she read the book on her lap. This one was of course a fantasy of her favorite series. 'The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Ilse Witch', by Terry Brooks was what she was reading now. She felt so connected to one of the characters, not only in talent, but fears as well. She didn't go as far as to call Bek Rowe her kin, but she was close. They were like kindred spirits, and that's what people would have seen if her door wasn't closed. A spirit of a boy around eighteen years old clad in Elvin attire, curled up next to her with a sword strapped to his back and his head on her shoulder. She wasn't even aware of what she was doing. As the songs changed from one to the next, she sang subconsciously. Some time through the book, she fell asleep.

She was pulled from her deep slumber by an arm wrapped around her waist. She tried to snuggle closer to the figure when her eyes snapped open and a thought slapped her in the face. There shouldn't be a 'figure' in her bed with her. When she realized what she was looking at, she mentally screamed. Lying next to her was no illusion. It was truly Bek, his long brown hair falling gracefully from his warmly tanned face.

"This… can not be happening." She said, causing him to stir in his sleep. She poked him in the ribs, trying to get him to wake up before anyone showed up. Looking at her stereo, she found it was well into the night or morning rather. Twelve forty eight, no one in their right mind would be up.

"Come on, get up." She whispered harshly. He finally opened his blue eyes and stared straight into hers. He suddenly jolted up and sprang from the bed. Shela winced in pain at the sudden disturbance in her leg.

"What's going on here? Who are you? Where are Walker, and the air ship?"

"Shhh," she hissed at him, nursing her leg. "You're going to wake everyone up. And a better question is; what were you doing sleeping on me?"

He stared at her, lost for a moment then suddenly unsheathed his sword. "Demon! Tell me what you've done with my friends!"

She shushed him again, this time using her gifts. She made him calm down and lower his sword, and then instilled an idea of who she was and where he was in his mind. "Feel better?"

"No… and yes… how did I get here? And why do you have animal ears?"

She smiled sadly and looked down at the bed. "I don't know. Fait just decided to slap me in the face with this one. I am a freak among freaks." She said, letting her odd sense of humor out again.

"You're a strange one, I'll give you that, but I won't go as far as to call you a freak. Trust me when I tell you I've met stranger creatures."

"Well first of all, I'm not a creature; my name is Arana, though my mom calls me Shela. Long story short, grand parents in Australia, thought it would be a good nick name, so what about you?"

"I am Bek Rowe, younger cousin of Quentin Leah, apprentice to the Druid, Walker. I…"

"Yes, yes, yes, I knew that already. Can you tell me something new?" Arana cut him off. Looking at her clock, she sighed in defeat. "Listen, it's late, come over here." She pulled a set of pillows out from under her back and gave them to him. "In the door over there is a stack of quilts, take as many as you need. I'd offer you my bed, but I kind of can't move from it."

"Why can't you leave you're bed?"

"My leg is broken in who knows how many places and Hank said, and I quote, 'You need your rest.' Hate it when people tell me that. I know how to take care of myself."

"I'm sure." He said sarcastically, following her instructions.

"I am sure," she defended. "It wasn't my fault that my leg broke. It wasn't my fault that two nimrods decided to start a fight in the bar, and it wasn't my fault the damned ceiling decided to fall on top of me."

"Whoa, hold up, what happened?"

"I'll explain it tomorrow, right now…" the door swung open and Logan stepped in, nose flaring. But Arana was one step ahead. She was already using her voice, so she just dropped the tone and volume so what ever Logan saw, he shook his head and looked at her funny.

"Shela? Who were you talking to? I heard voices."

"I was talking? Damn it," she shook her head sadly and let a tear fall down her cheek. "I'm even using it in my sleep."

"Whoa, hold on kid. Don't start crying on me. Here, how about I get you a glass of milk?" He said hurriedly, not wanting to see her cry. He was gone and down the hall before her voice gave out.

"How'd you do that?" Bek demanded, dropping the quilts on the floor.

"That's my mutation. Here, those born with magic are known as Mutants and they clam it to be the work of the X-gene. That's why I'm here, because I am a mutant, though most of the others at least look normal. I have cat ears and tail, and all the sense that come with it. What he saw was an illusion. He didn't see you, and hopefully I was able to distract his attention away from your smell. Now go to sleep. We'll have time to talk tomorrow."

"Alright, but what if he comes in here again?"

"He won't. He didn't go to get milk, I sent him to bed. So he's not coming back."

"Alright. Good night Arana."

"Good night Bek."


	5. Chapter 5

I feel really stupid right now, I accidentaly skipped chapters five and six in my postings slaps forhead please forgive me. So here's chapter five, not seven, five. And thank you so much for the review Lady Shalafa, I greatly appreceate it.

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Chapter V

Morning came with a soft touch. Twitching her ears, Arana found the touch wasn't just a twinge in her mind. Some one was actually touching her. She opened her eyes and found a Bek looming over her, eyes filled with fear of being caught in the act of poking her ears.

"What are you doing?" She asked groggily, unaccustomed to seeing people when she woke up.

"Um… I wanted to see if they were real, so, um…" He stuttered, looking for words.

"So you thought you should just poke and prod rather than wait until I was awake to see if you had permission to touch me." His face paled. She smiled, seeming to have been right. "What time is it?"

"I don't know. A blue demon came by the door though and tried waking you." Now it was Arana's turn to go pale, more so than she naturally was. "Don't worry; I hid under the bed just in time. I'm guessing I'm not supposed to be here?"

"Well, not yet any ways. But don't worry, I have a plan." She told him what she came up with while he slept. He put on a pair of boy jeans she had gotten from Hot Topic a while back, along with a random tee shirt. She always had boy cloths in her wardrobe; that was just what she did. She hated having to dress like a girl all the time. So now she as confined to her one and only night gown, seeing as her leg is broken and she didn't want to try working jeans over the cast yet.

Bek kept his boots on under the baggie jeans and Arana helped teach him to concentrate on using the wish song that he was famous for in his story. The wish song was his birthright after all. Why she had it she'll never understand. When his tutoring was done well enough to make simple illusions, he climbed out the window and disappeared.

No sooner had the windows been shut had the door opened and Ororo came in. "How are you feeling today?"

"Sore," Arana said simply, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"And what do you think you're doing?"

"Need food." She grabbed the crutches next to her bed and stood on her good leg.

"If you needed something to eat, you could just ask." Ororo said with a laugh. Arana was saved from saying anything by the chime of a door bell two floors down. "Oh, hold that thought. I'll be right back, so just sit tight."

With that, Arana was left alone again. She smiled at herself and went to get some normal cloths on. She choose another pair of extremely oversized jeans that easily went over the cast that went up her thigh. An oversized tee shirt of her own replaced the night gown and she hobbled out into the hall on the crutches.

She found the kitchen easy enough. She didn't run into anyone on the way due to timing. It was eight thirty four in the morning and everyone would be in a training session Hank had told her about. Every one but her that is. There were many complications to her attending those sessions. First of all, she was confound to the mansion due to the fact that she was pretty much a cat. And second, again she was confound to the mansion on doctors orders.

So she pretty much had the run of the house from around seven in the morning to three in the afternoon. She didn't have any complaints. The less social interaction she got, the better, in her view.

She clumsily made herself a glass of milk and some tuna with crackers. It was about an hour until anyone showed up. The professor made his way into the kitchen with Bek who looked around with confusion and wonder. "Ah, Shela, I thought we might find you in here. Shela, this is Bek Rowe, and he will be staying with us for a while. Bek, this is Shela, she's another new student who will be staying with us for a while. Now Shela, what have I told you about using the crutches?"

"Only for short distances, but sir you must understand, it is far easier for me to get around with them rather than in that most awkward chair. I just can't use my arms like that for one, and another, I have to keep moving. I'll die if I don't."

"Vary well then, but you have to promise me that you will use the chair when you go outside."

"But I thought I wouldn't be aloud outside." She said, confusion evident in her voice.

"You know young Kurt goes to school too, right? I will have a halo-induser made for you as well, so you can attend your classes."

"What! What do you mean 'so I can attend classes'? What about the whole transferring my stuff from my old school thing?" She nearly shouted, trying to stand on two legs. She fell back down on the stool with a hiss but looked back at the professor quickly.

"All taken care of before you woke up. You start classes in three weeks when school starts."

"Oh great," she responded, rolling her eyes.

"And Bek will be joining you." He said before leaving altogether.

"Shit. This is not what I expected." She looked to Bek who was still looking nervous. "So how you holding up?"

"You're world is so strange, I… I don't understand a thing that's going on."

"Remember when you went to Castledown, the old world magic that you were sent to find? Well, this is it."

"This is it? It doesn't look like magic."

"Because it's not, it's science, technology. It's this technology that allows us to travel across country in a matter of moments. It's with this technology that we have been able to go to the moon and actually play gulf. A couple went up there on vacation for crying out loud. Kind of really ruins the mystic and magic of it." She said sadly. "It's so beautiful, and we turned it into a tourist attraction."

"How horrible, how could such a thing like that happen?" He asked with a mix of confusion and spite.

"I don't know. Here, you come to my room with me, and I can show you all this on my laptop." She said, rising from the table and hobbling along with the crutches.

"Here, let me help you," he offered.

"Oh, no, I'm fine on my own really." She said with a smile and left the kitchen, a mystified Bek following her closely. They encountered no one until they reached the elevators. When the doors opened, they found Logan, sporting a vary frustrated look.

"Good morning Logan, is something wrong? You look agitated and just down right cranky." Arana said with her head tilted to the side.

"I'm 'cranky' because I was just in to check up on you in your room, and you weren't there. What are you doing out of bed?" He said harshly. Arana held her head low as he continued. "I know someone was in your room last night. Who was it? I can smell 'em all over, including your blankets." She gave him a confused look and then turned and leaned against the wall. Logan looked at Bek and sniffed. "It was him. What was he doing in your room last night?"

"It's alright Logan," the professor said, coming up behind them. "Logan, this is our new student Bek. Young Shela here brought him. He stayed in her room because she didn't want to wake anyone, though I must say it was rather unorthodox. Next time, Shela, don't worry about that."

"Yes sir. May I go now?" She asked quietly.

"Of course," the professor said before Logan could interrupt. Arana then made it on to the elevator, with Bek following close behind. She kept her head down at the ground the whole time.

"Arana? Is something wrong?" Bek asked timidly. She just shook her head as the doors closed and they made there way to the third floor, where she showed him the internet and everything that he wished to know about this world's technology.


	6. Chapter 6

Here's chapter six for those of you who read this before I fixed my chapters. Incase you didn't get the memo, I had accindentaly posted chapter seven before posting chapters five and six, so here it is.

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Chapter VI

"Wait, what did he call her?" Logan asked the professor as he watched the doors close on them.

"Arana, that's her name."

"I thought it was Shela," he asked confused.

"It is. Shela is a nick name her mom and grandparents call her by. We call her that though because she doesn't correct us when we do." The professor said, his voice as calm as ever. "She's a tricky one. She lets people live and think according to their perceptions. If we were to call her something else, she would let us call her that for forever, never telling us we were wrong or right."

"You scare me some times, you know that Chuck? Let me guess, you read her mind?"

"Yes," the professor responded with a sly smile. "We'll have to wait until later to see if she is willing to tell us anything on her own though, particularly where her new friend came from."

"What do you mean?"

"This new boy, he just showed up out of nowhere this morning. He doesn't have any parents, but was living with his aunt and uncle, along with a cousin he seemed vary fond of. I can't fathom it though. He has a vary strong mind barrier. When I try to read his mind, I am assaulted with visions of this man with one arm. It's vary peculiar." His face dropped in concentration for a moment, then contorted with pain as his hand flew up to his head.

"Are you okay? You don't look so good." Logan asked, worried for the kind old man that sat next to him.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was trying to catch him off guard, but he keeps that barrier up."

"How does he do it?"

"Great concentration. And this man seems to be all he ever consecrates on. Who is he I wonder."

Logan stared at the elevator doors the two had disappeared behind. He was thinking of the night before, when he woke up to someone talking in Arana's room. Then something loud hit his ears and he heard Arana screaming something along the lines of "what the hell, I told you not to touch anything," over the noise. A smirk played his was across his lips.

He was growing fond of this girl for some reason. Perhaps it was her fight. She had so much in her and she knew just how to use it to her advantage. He would have to watch out for her in training, if she stuck around when her leg was better.

"That's one of the things I wished to speak with her about," The professor said, startling Logan from his thoughts. "Weather or not she wishes to stay here with us at the institute. She may not wish to go back home, but she may not wish to stay here either. What do you think?"

"I don't think with that voice, that she will want to be anywhere at all. She seems more afraid for others than of herself, but there's no difference there. She cares more for others than for herself."

"Yes, that's true."

"What about school? You didn't put her into any music classes did you?"

"Yes, I did. I thought it would help her to control her gifts. Learning to restrain herself by singing for something other than another's greed."

"I don't think that's a vary good idea." Logan said as she screamed again and the room shook. He looked over at the professor to find him smiling. "I'm going to check on them. Those two are going to bring the whole place down around our heads." He said with a sigh.

He took the elevator up two floors and found the noise so much louder. He squeezed his eyes shut as he got accustomed to it. Then, over the extreme volume of a blasting stereo system, he heard an argument over… a sword? He opened the door to Arana's room and found that they truly were fighting over a sword. Arana was in possession of a sword with strange markings on it, trying to keep it away from Bek. Logan just leaned against the door frame, watching with amusement as the two fought over this relic.

When it looked like he would give up, Bek jumped and grabbed hold of the handle. A bright flash filled the room and he dove to cover his eyes. When he was able to see again, he saw the two lying on the floor, both with a hand on the hilt of this blade. He ran in and tried to get to the two, but a blue fire surrounded them when he got close, then faded away as he backed off. Then looking at their faces, he found both their eyes wide open and blankly staring into each others.

_Chuck, you might want to get up here. Something funny is going on. You have to see this for yourself_, Logan thought to the professor down stairs.

_Alright, hold on. Hank and I are on our way._

He couldn't do much else. He was stuck watching the unblinking pair as the glow of the sword grew and sweat beaded on both their brows. The urge to help them was over powering. If it weren't for the self restraint he had, he would have tried to. Luckily he was saved from any action when the professor came in with a worried Beast.

"What's going on?" Beast yelled over the music. When he saw the two teens on the floor, his eyes widened in shock. The professor turned off the stereo and put his hands to his temples in concentration. He jerked back with a cry of pain as the flame surrounding the two flared. Then the light and the flame disappeared all together as the two dropped the sword. Their breathing quickened dramatically and their eyes fluttered.

Bek recovered first and pulled Arana in a tight hug. She whimpered her breathing still irregular and rugged. Hank quickly picked her up and as gently as he could, placed her in bed. Her eyes widened as they fell on his face. "Daddy," she whispered before passing out.

Logan was too stunned for words. This was all too weird for any one, including him.


End file.
